Spray extractor



May 9, 1939. I c. RAYMOND I 2,157,305

SPRAY EXTRACTOR Filed March 6, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 1 w i A\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ r INVENTOR ATTORNEY Gwygng Rog/norm. BY I y- G. RAYMOND 2,157,305

SPRAY EXTRACTOR Filed March 6, 1937 3 SheetsSheet 3 HHHmHlHHIIIHIHIHIH\HHHHIH\HHUIHIHHHHH ll A B V INVENTOR g%% Fay/ ohn.

ATTORN EY Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates to spray extractors such as used in efiecting removal of moisture or liquid spray from streams of gaseous fluids, and particularly to extractors equipped with deflectors.

In spray extractors of this character the deflectors usually consist of a multiplicity of closely spaced fins supported to provide tortuous passages for the flow of gas. Such extractors are highly eflicient. when properly constructed, but improper placement and location of the fins results in excessive back pressure and improper extraction of the moisture. Assembly of the extractors is, therefore, very exacting and requires extreme skill and much time on the part of the workmen with the result that they are very costly, which limits their field of use.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide an extractor construction which permits of accurate assembly in a facile manner, and at relatively low cost.

Other important objects of the invention are to provide an extractor construction wherein the fins are rigidly clamped in assembly so as to obviate the necessity of welding; to provide a standard size and type of fin for producing extractor cores of any desired capacity merely by adding the required number of fins; and to provide a fin assembly which is capable of withstanding widely varying pressures on the inlet and outlet sides of the extractor.

It is also an important object of the invention to provide an improved fin construction which is of high efficiency and which exerts a minimum back pressure on the gaseous fluid discharged through the extractor.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, as hereinafter pointed out, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred form of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a spray extractor constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrating its adaptation to an oil and gas separator.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the spray extractor on the line 2-2 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the extractor, a part of r the housing being broken away to better illustrate the construction and mounting of the fins.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the extractor, partly in horizontal section.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view illustrating the assembly of the fins.

. Fig. 6 is a detail section through one corner of the extractor, particularly illustrating the method of spacing and rigidly clamping the fins in exact relative relation to form tortuous passageways of definite shape and capacity.

Fig. '7 is a detail perspective view of one of 5 the fins.

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of an end of one of the spacers.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

While spray extractors constructed in accordance with the present invention are adapted for use in various apparatus handling gaseous fluids, such as steam purifiers, gasoline and gas line scrubbers and the like, I have illustrated and described the invention adapted in an oil and gas separator for use in removing spray from the gas after separation of the oil. The separator illustrated is of conventional construction, and includes a cylindrical shell I supported in vertical position with its ends closed by heads 2 to form a separating chamber 3. Opening tangentially into the side of the shell, at a point spaced below the upper head 2, is a flow line 4 for discharging flow from an oil well into the separator for effecting centrifugal separation of the 5 gaseous content from the liquid of the flow, the liquid gravitating to the bottom of the separator and the gas rising to the top of the chamber 3 for discharge through a gas line 5 extending radially through the side of the shell. 30

The flow from the well is discharged into the separator at well pressure which may vary from a few pounds to excessively high value within a short period of time. The flow is also such as to cause the separated gas to retain a large quan- 5 tity of liquid spray. It is, therefore, necessary to provide the separator with a. spray extractor which is not only capable of efficiently extracting the spray but which must be constructed to withstand extremely high and widely varying pressures, and while my invention is adapted for other uses, as above noted, I find it highly satisfactory for this use since the extracting elements are rigidly supported and anchored in a unit, as now to be described. 45 The spray extractor 6 includes a housing I, having side plates 8 and 9 connected by an end plate I0 and top and bottom plates II and I2 to provide, in the illustrated instance, a substantially cubical compartment I3 having the side l4 thereof opposite the plate II] open to provide a gas inlet l5. The end plate In includes a flat, central portion l6, having diverging side wings l1 and I8 welded to the adjacent edges 8 and 9 of the side plates to form a manifold chamber l9 leading to a gas outlet 20. The gas outlet 28 is formed in the portion l6, and has a flanged collar 2! in which the end of the gas line 5 is connected. The top and bottom plates I l and I2 are of size and shape to close the upper and lower ends of the manifold.

To facilitate assembly, the bottom I2 has an upwardly extending edge flange 22 to sleevingly engage the lower edges-of the side and end plates 8, 9 and ID, as best shown in Fig. 3. The bottom I2 is also provided with a sump 23 that is depressed from the plane thereof in the median line of the housing and extends from adjacent the end plate In to a point slightly beyond the vertical axis of the housing to provide drainage for the separated spray and removal thereof through a drain pipe 24 that is connected with the sump, as best illustrated in Fig. 1, The side plates 8 and 9 of the housing are reinforced by vertically spaced angle members 25, 26 and 21 which extend horizontally of the side walls with one of their flanges 28 abutting against the outer faces thereof, and their other flanges 29 extending laterally to provide suitable stiffening ribs 30. The angle members are located on the side plates in position to register with the anchoring rods of the extractor fin assembly 3|, now to be described.

The fin assembly 3| includes a plurality of fins 32, each formed of a strip of material corresponding in length to the spacing between the top and bottom plates l I and I2 of the housing. The strips are bent longitudinally at a point offset from their median line, as at 34, to provide a plate-like, partition forming portion 35 and an angularly extending wing portion 36 extending at an acute angle to the plate portion 35 to form a trap or pocket 31 therebetween. The free edge of the wing 36 is bent inwardly toward the plate portion 35, as at 38, to provide a flange 39 having its edge 40 terminating in spaced relation with the plate portion 35 to provide an entrance 4| leading to the pocket 31. The edge 40 of the flange also terminates in inset spaced relation to the edge 42 of the plate portion 35 for a purpose later described. The fins thus described may be formed in suitable dies or jigs to standard specifications so that all of them have exactly the same size and crosssectional contour whereby any one fin may be substituted for any other fin when it is placed in the assembled unit. The fins are supported in definite spaced relation and at required places in the housing by means of spacers 43 to form a pluralty of tortuous passageways having substantially the same capacities and resistances to fiow of the gaseous fluid.

The spacers 43 are best illustrated in Fig. 8, and are formed of fiat bars of suitable thickness to provide the desired spacing between the adjacent rows of fins, and of suitable width to provide the desired clamping contact. The bars 43 are shaped in dies to provide a series of alternating pockets or seats 44 and 45, arranged with the pockets 44 opening from one side of the bar and the pockets 45 opening from the opposite side of the bar. The pockets 44 and 45 have side portions 46 and 41 of substantially the same depth as the dimension of a fin from the bend 38 to the outer face of the portion 35, and interconnecting portions 48 that are of slightly less length than the width of the fins from the bends 34 to the edges 42, so that when the angular portions 36 thereof are seated within the pockets the rounded portion of the bend 34 and the edge 42 will respectively engage against rounded bends 49 and 50 at the inner side faces of the pockets as indicated in Fig. 8. The corresponding rounded portions 5| and 52 at the opposite sides of the bar are similarly spaced. The outer dimension of the connecting portions 48 substantially corresponds to the width of the fins between the bends 34 and edges 42 thereof so that the outer faces of the fins, that are retained by an adjacent spacer, seat thereagainst, to overlap the edges of the corresponding portions of the fins in an adjacent row, as shown in Fig. 6.

The spacers, after being formed, are of substantially the same length as the width of the side walls 8 and 9, and the ends thereof terminate in cars 53 having openings 54 to pass tie rods 55. The tie rods 55 are of sufficient length to project through aligning openings 56 and 51 in the edges of the respective side walls 8 and 9, and through registering openings 58 and 59 in the flanges 28 of the angular members, previously described. The ends of the bars are provided with threads and carry nuts 68 to clampingly engage the flanges 28.

In assembling an extractor, one of the side plates, for example 8, is placed in horizontal position with the angular members 25, 26 and 21 located on the under side thereof as indicated in Fig. 5. The tie rods 55 are then extended through the aligning openings 56 and 58, and the nuts 60 applied to the threaded ends thereof. The tie rods are then supported in vertical position as shown in the figure. A row of fins as shown in Fig, '7 is placed on the upper surface of the side wall in spaced relation substantially conforming to the spacing of the pockets 44 of the spacer bars. Spacer bars are then applied with the ears 53 thereof threaded over the ends of the respective pairs of tie rods and dropped into position so that the angular wings 36 of the fins engage in the pockets 44. When in this position the ears 53 of the spacer bars, and the connecting portions 48 forming the pockets 45, will seat against the upper face of the side wall, and the rounded portions 49 and 58 at the sides of the seat will clampingly engage the bend 34 and the edge 42 of the plate portion of the fin to thereby accurately space the respective fins across the width of the side wall. The row of fins thus placed is designated A in Fig. 5. A second row of fins B is then placed in the alternate pockets 45 at the upper sides of the bar, with the wings 36 located therein and the bends 34 and edges 42 engaging the rounded portions 51 and 52. When in this position the upper faces of the fiat portions 35 of the fins substantially coincide with the plane of the upper surfaces 48 of the spacer bars. Attention is here directed to the fact that when the second row of fins is placed in their respective pockets the flanges 39 thereof lie substantially midway between the corresponding flanges of the row of fins A and that the angular wing portions 36 thereof extend in opposite directions to provide a tortuous passage a for the flow of gaseous fluid, as later described. A third row of fins C is then placed on the upper surfaces 48 of the spacer bars in similarity to the spacing of the fins in the row A. A second set of spacer bars is then threaded over the tie rods and moved into juxtaposition with the fins in the row C. When in this position the rounded portions 49 and 5D engage against the bends 34 and the edges 42 of the fins that overlap the bends 34 in the next lower row B to cooperate with the bends 5| and 52 in the lower spacer bars to clamp the overlapping portions of the fins therebetween. The fiat portions 35 in the row B thus cooperate with the flat portions 35 in the row C to form a closed partition extending in parallel relation with the side wall 9. A fourth row D of fins is then placed in the upper pockets'of the spacers to correspond with the placement of the row B, whereupon a row E of fins is applied corresponding to the placement of the fins A and C. A'third set of spacer bars is then threaded over the ends of the rods to clamp the row of fins D and E to form a substantially continuous partition, cooperating with the partition previously formed to provide the sides of a tortuous passage 12'. Additione al fins and spacer bars are thus applied in a similar manner to complete a unit having the required number of passages a, b, etc. The opposite side plate 9 is then threaded over the rods so that the upper ends thereof pass through the openings 51 and 59. Nuts are then applied to the projecting ends of the rods and drawn tightly against the flanges 28 of the angle members carried by the plate 8 to draw all of the spacer'bars and fins in clamping relation, thereby providing a rigid assembly.

Before the nuts are tightened care must be taken that all the ends of all of the fins lie in the same planes. so that they abut snugly against the top and bottom plates II and I2 respectively, as shown in Fig. 2. In applying the top and bottom plates, the edges thereof, which form the upper and lower boundaries of the gas inlet l5, must be located on the side of the unit toward which the angular wings 36 are directed, so that when the housing is completed the openings 4| to the pockets 3'! will face the inlet of the housing. When the top and bottom plates are in position they are welded or otherwise secured to the abutting edges of the side plates, after which the end wall In is placed in position and attached to the forward side edges of the side plates and to the forward edge portions of the top and bottom plates.

When the extractor unit thus described is placed in the separator, the fins are carried in perpendicular position. The flow line 5 is connected with the collar 20 and the drain pipe 24 with the opening in the bottom of the sump as shown in Fig. 1. v

In service, the gas, after being freed of the main oil stream, moves to the top of the separator and enters the open side of the extractor to pass through the tortuous passageways a, b, 0, etc. Upon entering the passageways the gas will flow through the openings 4| into the pockets 3'! of the first set of fins, to retard the fiow thereof and cause sufiicient eddy currents to effect release of moisture or spray carried with the gas. The flanges 39 thereof, being directed inwardly, act as guards to prevent the gas from again picking up liquid that has been released.

The gas streams are caught in a similar manner by the pockets in the second series of fins to again cause adclditional separation of any mois'ture still remaining in the fiow. Since the pockets in the successive fins are alternately arranged relatively to the pockets in the preceding fins, direction of the flow is reversed so that it moves in a zigzag path between the partitions formed by the plate portions of the respective rows of fins. By the time the gas has been discharged from the opposite side of the unit and entered the manifold it has been substantially freed of any entrained moisture so that the gas delivered through the discharge line 5 is practically in dry condition. The liquid, upon separation, gravitates down the faces of the fins to collect in the bottom I2 for flow through the bottoms of the passageways to- .3 ward the manifold l9 and drainage into the sump 23 from where it is discharged into the liquid at the lower end of the separator through the drain pipe 24. I

From the foregoing it is apparent that I have 7 provided a spray extractor wherein the fins are readily assembled Without the necessity of welding or the like, and it is apparent that the standard dimensions of the fins, together with die forming of the spacers, provides for accurate assembly i so that the fins when applied assume the same relative relation, and that all of the passageways have the same relative capacity and provide the same efficient extracting action across the entire width of the extractor. It is also apparent that extractorsof larger capacity may be constructed by providing longer tie rods and applying additional fins and spacers. Clamping of the fins in the pockets not only provides automatic spacing of the fins but it also provides a very rigid mounting to prevent disruption of the extractor in case maximum pressure differentials occur on the inlet and outlet sides of the extractor.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a spray extractor, a plurality of rows of fins consisting of strips having partition forming portions and pocket forming wings extending from said partition forming portions, said wings in one row cooperating with the wings in an adjacent row to form tortuous passageways between said partition forming portions, spacers between said rows of fins and having pockets for accommodating said wings, and means connecting the spacers.

2. In a spray extractor, a plurality of rows of fins consisting of strips having partition forming portions and angularly extending wings terminating in flanges spaced from said partition forming portions, spacers between the respective rows of fins and having pockets for accommodating said fins, and means for connecting the spacers to retain the fins.

3. In a spray extractor, a plurality of rows of fins having partition forming portions arranged with the partition forming portions in one row slightly overlapping the corresponding partition forming portions in an adjacent row and having angularly extending wing portions forming pockets to cooperate with corresponding wing portions of the next adjacent row to form tortuous passages between said partition forming portions, spacers consisting of bars shaped to provide alternate seats for said cooperating wing portions forming the tortuous passageways, and tie rods connecting the bars to retain said fins.

4. A spray extractor including a housing comprising spaced side plates, a plurality of rows of fins each having partition forming portions arranged with the partition forming portions in one row slightly overlapping the corresponding partition forming portions in an adjacent row and having angularly extending wing portions forming pockets to cooperate with corresponding wing portions of the next adjacent row to form tortuous passages between said partition forming portions, spacing bars shaped to provide alternate seats for said cooperating wing portions forming the tortuous passageways, and tie rods connecting the side plates to clamp the fins against the spacing bars.

5. In a spray extractor, a plurality of fins having partition forming portions arranged with the partition forming portions in one row slightly overlapping the corresponding partition forming portions in an adjacent row and having angularly extending wing portions forming pockets to cooperate with corresponding wing portions of the next adjacent row to form tortuous passages between said partition forming portions, spacers consisting of bars shaped to provide alternate seats for said cooperating wing portions and having portions clampingly engaging the partition forming portions, and tie rods connecting the bars to retain said fins.

6. A spray extractor including a housing having inlet and outlet openings, a plurality of rows of fins each consisting of a strip having a partition forming portion and a wing extending angularly from said partition forming portion in the direction of said inlet opening, said wings in one row cooperating with the wings in an adjacent row to form tortuous passages between said rows of fins, spacers between the rows of fins and having seats for accommodating said wings, and means connecting the spacers.

'7. In a spray extractor, a plurality of spaced rows of fins having angularly projecting wings, spacing bars between the respective rows and 'having pockets receiving the wings of the fins in adjacent rows, and means connecting the spacing bars to retain the wings in said pockets.

8. In a spray extractor, a plurality of, spaced rows of spaced fins having angularly projecting wings, spacing bars between said rows and having retained in staggered relation with the staggered pockets alternately arranged on the respective sides of said bars for respectively receiving the individual wings of the fins in the adjacent rows whereby the wings of the fins are wings of the fins of the adjacent rows to form tortuous passageways between said rows, and means connecting the spacing bars.

9. In a spray extractor, a plurality of rows of individually spaced fins consisting of strips having partition forming portions and angularly extending wings spaced from said partition forming portions, spacing bars between the respective rows of fins and having pockets opening from opposite sides of the spacing bars and provided with clamping portions at the open sides thereof for clampingly engaging the partition forming portions of said fins to spacingly retain said wings in said pockets, and means connecting the spacing bars.

10. In a spray extractor, spaced side plates, a plurality of rows of fins having angularly extending wings supported between the side plates, spacing bars between the respective rows of fins having pockets receiving the wings of the fins and having clamping portions, engaging portions of the fins, and means connecting the side plates to retain the spacers in clamping contact with said portions of the fins.

GWYNNE RAYMOND. 

